Marines concerned about allowing gays to serve openly

Survey shows they are least supportive on ending ban

The 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos accepts command from Gen. James T. Conway during a Passage of Command ceremony presided over by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., on Oct. 22, 2010.
— DoD photo by Cherie Cullen

The 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos accepts command from Gen. James T. Conway during a Passage of Command ceremony presided over by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., on Oct. 22, 2010.
/ DoD photo by Cherie Cullen

The motto is a way of life for the Marines, who guard their history and traditions with a fervor unparalleled among the armed forces. Their conservative outlook, along with a warrior ethos and an almost tribal sense of exceptionalism, has helped the Corps survive many challenges to its existence during its 235-year history.

Now those same qualities are pitting the service against some in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill who want to abolish the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy preventing gays from serving openly in the military.

The Pentagon survey released Tuesday reported that Marines had the most negative view among the armed services about the effect of a repeal, especially those in direct combat units such as the infantry and artillery.

About 60 percent of Marines polled, and 67 percent of those in the Marine combat arms, said their unit’s effectiveness in a field environment or out at sea would be negatively impacted. Among all service members, the number was 44 percent.

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The resistance among Marines came as no surprise. In 2007, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he supported “don’t ask, don’t tell” and called homosexuality “immoral,” based on his personal religious beliefs.

More recently, Gen. James Conway, then the commandant of the Marine Corps, explained his opposition by saying: “We recruit a certain type of young American — pretty macho guy or gal that is willing to go fight and perhaps die for their country.”

Then the current commandant, Gen. James Amos, said during a recent visit to San Diego that he too objected to making the change during wartime.

“There is nothing more intimate than combat ... young men laying out, sleeping alongside one another and sharing death and fear and the loss of their brothers,” Amos said.

Other Marines said the military needs to catch up with the rest of society and respect gay rights.

“As new generations are coming into the Marine Corps, it has become more accepted,” said Carlo Joyce, a 30-year-old former Marine corporal from San Diego who is gay.

Joyce, whose last name was Perezortiz before he assumed his husband’s last name, said he had planned to make a career of the Corps but left in 2006 after being hounded by a homophobic gunnery sergeant.

“I don’t want any other Marine who’s been serving in Iraq or Afghanistan to have to deal with this. He has to fight two wars, the physical war and then the bullying,” Joyce said.

What is it about the Marines that sets them apart on this issue?

“There is a certain breed of person who joins the Marine Corps. It’s a special brotherhood,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, a captain in the Marine reserves and a combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who opposes a repeal.

The people who volunteer to serve at “the tip of the spear” in combat with the Marines include many who support organized religion, political conservatives and patriots who believe in “God, family and country,” he said.

The Corps trains every Marine to be a rifleman, from the cooks to the infantrymen. That warrior mentality is shared by combat units in other branches of the service, whether it’s Army airborne soldiers or Navy SEALS, Hunter added.

For those troops, the most important question is: Will it help them “close with and kill” the enemy? “The answer is no. It isn’t like getting a new weapon that is more proficient.”

A number of other factors contribute to the Corps’ unique culture. It is the smallest service, at about 200,000 active-duty troops. It has the youngest force, including a majority under age 21. It was among the last in the military to open its doors to women — in 1943 — and today it is still not as ethnically diverse as the latest commandant would like.

The Marines have been fighting for the Corps’ survival at least since 1830, which, along with its small size, has fostered its adherence to tradition and a tendency to close ranks, said Gordon Keiser, a 72-year-old retired Marine colonel from the Quantico, Va., area who wrote a book on Marine Corps history.

Some other tendencies drilled into Marines since boot camp will help them weather the change if the law is repealed, including pragmatism, discipline and professionalism, said Tammy S. Schultz, an openly lesbian professor and director of national security and joint warfare at the U.S. Marine Corps War College in Quantico.

Schultz said Marines have always treated her with respect, including those who may object to her sexual orientation.

“They have an almost uber-warrior culture,” she said. “There is resistance to anything that is unknown that may impact readiness, be it a new rifle, a different uniform, a different boot, or a personnel change like a reversal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’”

But Schultz said she found the survey results “actually very positive” because they demonstrated that experience trumped beliefs among many respondents. The poll found that 84 percent of Marines in combat units who had worked with a gay or lesbian service member said the interaction was good or neutral, compared with 92 percent among all service members.

“It shows that the policy is not keeping up with the reality on the ground,” she said.